Pokémon 15x01-02: Enter Elesa & Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym - Atop the Fourth Wall

[@msmwkc]

No, no, I've decided those two Pokémon are lesbians. They just don't let Attract get in the way of their jobs because lesbians are sensible like that.

[@foxfireinferno3547]

Linkara:"It's a franchise I'll play until I'm an old man." Me, a 49 year old Pokemon player: "Yes, yes you will."

[@jordanhunter3375]

...Sorry for asking a prying question, but how old were you when Pokemon began?

[@yourcollegedebt8384]

@@jordanhunter3375 He was 24-25. It's been 25 years since pokemon started. Did you mean when they got into pokemon?

[@jordanhunter3375]

@@yourcollegedebt8384 Yeah. That would be more fitting.

[@okagron]

Haven't touched a game since Ultra Sun and Moon and i have been extremely disappointed with the franchise lately. If this keep going i might just give up on it.

[@RabblesTheBinx]

@@yourcollegedebt8384 I'm going to go out on a limb and guess they're not Japanese, so they would have been 26-27 when they first played it, at minimum.

[@mutalord]

when you consider that this season of pokemon was based on one of the most lore-rich games in the series with interesting companions and villians... this is an EXTRA LARGE middle finger

[@nine_tails137]

Agreed. Plus Linkara said something in his Power Rangers RPM video, that sums up my biggest problem with the Pokemon anime: "Just because something is made for children, doesn't mean it can't be sophisticated."

[@Ahturos]

"Attract don´t work on girls." Me - Looks at the audience to Eliza.

[@SirPaladin]

Ash was never a genius but the Unova series made him WAY TOO STUPID.

[@Future_Vantas]

Unova was the gas leak region

[@MusicFan752]

Agreed.

[@alankrumwiede9318]

And this is why Unova is the worst region

[@skibot9974]

Especially since one of the MANY contrived factors that lead to Ash losing HIS FIRST POKEMON LEAGUE was not having a full team on hand

[@joegreen3802]

Agreed. I mean, I'll make fun of the guy, but some of his actions and choices in battles that season was just so jarring.

[@Nightmster]

"Who do you think you are, skipping a cutscene?" A speedrunner, maybe?

[@tuvyamaeir4684]

Even worse, when he left and came back, they had to wait for him to go through that roller coaster sequence again and again.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

Somehow impressive is that Ash didn't Even remembered he brought Pikachu until Pikachu was begging him to fight

[@joegreen3802]

Actually, that would have brought some humor there.

[@OurKindofEntertainment]

Man I remember HATING Biana's dad so much when the episode first came out. Who the hell takes joy at being right watching their kid getting DEMOLISHED like that?! I'm 29 now, and can understand his concern for his child. However, watching your daughter's dreams getting crushed with a smug look on your face just because you believe you were right is an awful thing for a parent to do.

[@black97_0]

Every millennial ever: "first time?"

[@christopherbennett5858]

Also the idea that he's surprised his daughter made friends. Not in the nice way but in the "She can't have friends" way.

[@CJCroen1393]

I'm starting to see why the fandom has a tendency to make Bianca's dad an abusive douchebag.

[@trika91]

Unfortunately, there are plenty of parents/grandparents who take superiority over being right to the detriment of their children/grandchildren. They have a hard time admitting being wrong about something, and will either ruin relationships with their stubbornness or sometimes die without apologizing if they wronged a family member; they’re the seniors, so everyone has to agree with them.🙁

[@JoshtheOverlander]

@@CJCroen1393 yeah, between the games and the anime, the Pokemon franchise makes it all too easy to write Bianca's dad as an abusive a hole in any form of fan made content

[@StardustWhip]

Unova really does just turn Ash into the character that a lot of people like to paint him as, doesn't it? "Oh, Ash is so stupid, he doesn't even get the basics, and he loses all the time." And I can confidently say that isn't true... _except_ for this arc.

[@Mobysimo]

Thank you for acknowledging that Ash does grow through the series, Linkara. People thinking that the Ash in XY is the same as the one from the start of the series annoys me a lot.

[@dnmstarsi]

Yep. I mean we may make fun of Ash and I even defend him a lot in certain places but that's the thing. He's not all dumb, he does grow and he does find ways to win while being the underdog and pulling off feats that rarely work in the games if not at all.

[@Mobysimo]

@@dnmstarsi Yeah. Honestly, despite how regressed he is in the gym battle episode, there is a small shred of what Ash acts like right at the end. The whole Smokescreen to make Tynamo an easy hit for Iron Tail is exactly what Ash would do. Too bad he acts like season 1 Ash with major head trauma for most of it

[@dnmstarsi]

@@Mobysimo Yep. It's sad though, this episode wouldn't bother me this much if this happened in his Indigo days. He fought someone like Erika (even though it would be his 5th gym) and decided to bring only Charmander and/or Pidgeotto to sweep the gym. It fails ultimately and you get this episode or w.e.

[@Mobysimo]

@@dnmstarsi Yeah. I admit I have a soft spot for the Best Wishes anime since it's what brought me back to Pokemon after a long hiatus and I can forgive a lot. But not this. I've always hated this episode and how moronic they made Ash. Thankfully they seem to have their heads put on straight during Adventures in Unova. Ash actually feels like Ash and his interactions with N are really fun and interesting

[@ForrestFox626]

He never should have regressed to begin with

[@mattwo7]

7:49 He's also been accosted by angry birds, forced to crossdress under duress because a gym wouldn't allow boys, *_had his soul temporarily removed_* (in other words he *_LITERALLY DIED_* for a while) by ghosts who wanted to play with him (and only _begrudgingly_ put his soul back) and attempted body checking on multiple solid objects where that'd literally never work (and it literally never does) such as _force fields_ on multiple occasions.

[@tyrant-den884]

OSP Blue: "For *Dome's* sake, nice." Green/Blue: "Not that kind of dome."

[@Mask0fFate]

1. Whenever Linkara sighs, you know a rant is coming, and you know it’s going to be good. 2. I finally memorized the theme song! Huzzah!

[@nine_tails137]

When Linkara was talking in a quieter tone while facepalming, I legit felt he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, but decided to hold back his rage.

[@thegreatstoneddragon9432]

Linkara: *sighs* Me: Uh oh. Incoming rant Also Me: 🍿

[@nine_tails137]

@Darth_ Madara Honestly, I wanted to like the Black and White anime. I really did! But there were just too many negatives for me to over look. Like most of the side characters being written as either Arrogant, dumb, jerky, or naive, to the point where they're unlikable.(Ex: Bianca, Burgundy, Georgia, etc.)

[@black97_0]

@@nine_tails137 oh so basically the same opinion I have on pokémon journeys Go is a freaking Mery sue, and Noone can convince me otherwise One does not throw a regular pokeball at a yellow HP legendary, and catch it on the first try Legendary needs to either be asleep or paralized, have basically 1 HP left, and even then, the best pokeball for that specific pokémon, may not catch it Regular pokeball will never catch a legendary, and if it does it was a glitch, and that pokémon should be considered hacked at worst, or illegall at best

[@nine_tails137]

@@black97_0 I still don't get why they don't incorporate the other Balls into the Anime? I've been using Dusk Balls, Ultra Balls, Timer Balls, Dive Balls, and Net Balls quite frequently during my Playthroughs of each Pokemon game. As for Poke Balls catching Legendaries, I can only see that happening through sheer luck. Since Legendaries have such a low catch rate. Speaking of Journeys: Did you know Teletoon apparently airs that series at 3:00am MST? No Joke!

[@sonicsaiyan07]

Unova was a rocky transition for everyone. Pikachu losing to Trip's Snivy was already a bad first impression, but everyone was willing to give a mulligan THAT ONCE because of Zekrom shenanigans. This Gym Battle right here was THE moment everyone lost all faith in the Black and White anime. Appropriately so considering how things ended in the League.

[@Gojiragon]

What's sad too is that the Zekrom plot was abandoned in the anime, unrelated to the earthquake controversies.

[@nine_tails137]

Oh man! the Unova league was a giant middle finger to both Ash and the fandom! Not to mention the Guy who beat Ash, uses my favorite Fighting type Pokemon! I'll never get over that!

[@christopherbennett5858]

@@nine_tails137 Also, the guy was pretty much a Smug racist that used my favourite Unovan Starter.

[@nine_tails137]

@@christopherbennett5858 Georgia was Racist towards my favorite Pokemon Type, just because she lost in the Dragon Village. Which IMO, makes her worse than Iris!

[@millerkarageanes1562]

Pikachu lost because zekrom rendered Pikachu electric moves useless so that wasn’t ash’s fault

[@alphared920]

As a kid, Elesa was my favorite gym leader. I thought she was hilarious, and I loved her design. As an adult, nothing has changed

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

I prefer her original BW design over her BW2 Design though

[@thatonea-hole]

@@ianr.navahuber2195 Same

[@nine_tails137]

@@ianr.navahuber2195 Same here. Too bad the Gym Battle between her and Ash sucked!

[@ForrestFox626]

She's one of the best in my opinion

[@JoshtheOverlander]

"He's much more strongly against Bianca's journey in the game" That's a nice way to say, "He was a dick in the game".

[@AT4W]

Well, in the anime he DID give his initial approval to Bianca, which the games version didn't.

[@JoshtheOverlander]

@@AT4W True enough.

[@stevenchoza6391]

To be fair, that is a more believable response from a parent.

[@waynetech10]

"Your incompetence is staggering" has so many applications, and it's both sad and hilarious. I'm probably going to be driven to say it, at work tonight. Glad to it as a recurring bit.

[@reyonXIII]

How fitting that the two Unova Gym Leader episodes you've covered are of the...fan-favorites

[@wolfclaw719]

I feel like the Patron might have done that intentionally.

[@yugoxgc]

What?! How bad was the Unova season if these are Fan Favourites?!? O_o

[@reyonXIII]

@@yugoxgc Not necessarily about the anime, but that the episodes Linkara covered just happened to involve the two...fan favorites among the Unova Leaders across all media

[@BrendanJSmith]

@@yugoxgc VERY bad.

[@shadowldrago]

@@yugoxgc It's, not for their personalities.

[@TheHeroOfTomorrow]

"Lest we forget last time, where a HEALING move can block electrical attacks!" *laughs maniacally in 'using Thunder as armor'*

[@bthsr7113]

Still say Skyla should have been a coordinator or done air shows. She had no interest in battling or flying freight. She just wanted to fly and show off.

[@Stephen-Fox]

But then how would she murder children by firing them out of canons into steal walls?

[@skibot9974]

there's no conests in Unova

[@Gerik75]

So why did she become gym leader in first place if she doesn't care about battle?

[@dakotadoyle7573]

@@Gerik75 Family obligation most likely

[@bthsr7113]

@@skibot9974 I wouldn't know.

[@RhyperiorRanger]

Words cannot describe how much I despise the Unova anime and Ash’s gym battle against Elesa in particular. Sinnoh was such a perfect season and we saw Ash display true competence. How did he go from a semifinalist in the Lily of the Valley conference to an idiot who brings ONE Pokémon to a gym, forgets the gender of his own Pokémon, and intentionally sending in Pokémon when he has a major type disadvantage???🤦🏾‍♂️

[@wikiuser92]

Not runner-up. Semifinalist. But that's still pretty dang high, I say.

[@skibot9974]

I cant decide what was more idiotic Ash in this episode, him losing to Cameron, or the 4 episode arc where they trusted Meowth and let him travel with them

[@nine_tails137]

TBF, I've sent out Pokemon with a type disadvantage before, but only because I taught them a coverage move to counter their weaknesses. Such as teaching Hitmonlee Poison Jab and Rock Slide for Flying and Fairy coverage. Or teaching Gyarados Earthquake for Electric and Rock coverage. But yeah, I agree. Everything else Ash did in this Episode Sucked!

[@Mobysimo]

@@skibot9974 At least that arc led to some funny things. Unlike this episode

[@skibot9974]

@@Mobysimo I found the situation too stupid to get enjoyment

[@DrakeyC]

I thought those stripes on Elesa's shirt WERE her skin. I mean, she is a fashion model, unusual slightly revealing clothes aren't out-of-character.

[@bthsr7113]

Besides, with Skyla's joke of a jumpsuit, they're clearly doing dumb skimpy outfits in the same generation.

[@nine_tails137]

@@bthsr7113 Let's not forget that Ass shot Linkara mentioned.

[@christopherbennett5858]

@@bthsr7113 In B2W2, it gets even skimpier with what could be best as a Mardi Gras outfit and a fur coat.

[@SteveCrafts2k]

Those stripes ARE her skin.

[@DrakeyC]

@@SteveCrafts2k Welp, another entry for Lewis's next 15 screw-ups vid.

[@bridgetleekobold9979]

A parent who actually gives a crap about their kid in pokemon? There’s a first time for everything

[@chendror872]

Being overprotective is not the same as caring

[@ThePreciseClimber]

Now, now... Oak does care about Ash!

[@Nightmster]

His mother cares very much about Ash though.

[@chendror872]

@@Nightmster that's true

[@chendror872]

@@ThePreciseClimber 😂

[@ian2081]

A fashion show. Wait, there's actually non Pokémon related culture in this world?

[@filipe19991]

Valerie says no.

[@Santoryu90]

I’m pretty sure there are other instances of this throughout the games I remember Nessa from SwSh is also a model

[@dylankersten7873]

No pokemon like Levanny prove pokemon probably work in the fashion industry as well

[@EnderPryde]

There's also Golf, Baseball, and Football.

[@buchiklop110]

All of the Unova Gym Leaders have non-Gym jobs. Cilan and his brothers are waiters, Lenora is a museum curator, Burgh is an artist, Elesa is a fashion model, Clay is a miner, Skyla's a freight pilot, Brycen is an actor, and Drayden is the mayor. The B2W2 Leaders subvert this slightly, as Roxie is an underground rocker and Marlon is a surfer.

[@buchiklop110]

Ya wanna know the really stupid part about the whole "I've been relying on Pikachu way too much" plot? While that's true for the normal episodes, that's not true for the Gym Battles. Striaton Gym: Oshawott gets the final victory. Pikachu, amusingly, is the only one of Ash's Pokémon to be defeated. Nacrene Gym: Tepig and Oshawott are the only ones to battle. No Pikachu at all. Castelia Gym: Pikachu DOES win the final match here, though the bulk of the match is carried by Ash's Sewaddle/Swadloon. Driftveil Gym: No Pikachu since it's all Ground-types. Ash wins using Roggenrole/Boldore. Mistralton Gym: Pikachu is once again defeated, with Tranquill/Unfeasant claiming ultimate victory. Icirrus Gym: Again, no Pikachu at all. Krokorok gets the final shot. Virbank Gym: Pikachu once again gets the final victory here, but this battle was unique in that it was a 3-vs-6 battle. So, yea. Of all eight Gym Battles Ash won, only three of them were finished off by Pikachu. He lost two others and didn't participate in the final three. Also, the reused animation gets really, really bad in Best Wishes. The stock footage of Pokémon attacks and the trainers calling out said attacks get reused CONSTANTLY. It's mitigated slightly from XY onwards since the stock footage is placed against whatever background is relevant to the scene rather than generic speed lines.

[@lorddrayvon1426]

Weird fun fact. Elesa is voiced by Eileen Stephens, the same voice actress as Iris as well as Fennekin and both Victini and Zekrom.

[@lorddrayvon1426]

Voice really reminds me of Mandy from Totally Spies though that's a different voice actress entirely. Probably just the valley girl voice.

[@metalmangaming642]

8:09 and not to mention, when he did meet God, in that same movie, he almost got ERASED FROM THE TIMELINE

[@joegreen3802]

Actually, I think that was just being sent back to the present. If going off of what discount Jafar said.

[@kradeiz]

Rewatching Suede’s Pokémon reviews has made me appreciate how expressive the early animation is compared to these later seasons.

[@cartooncritic7045]

Oh believe me, Unova has some pretty great expressions later on. It's really just this first section where everything feels unnaturally stiff compared to the rest of the show.

[@Grandpharaoh91]

To be fair, the Sun And Moon and Journeys seasons are really expressive.

[@Gojiragon]

@@Grandpharaoh91 Really, the simpler designs have been a blessing, as it allows for more expressive and lively animation. From the looks of things, that approach has paid off.

[@jamescallanan2443]

I miss the wall cracks

[@callapratt7927]

Kudos for referencing the most bullshit Pokémon quiz in history

[@nine_tails137]

That whole quiz was rigged!

[@ForrestFox626]

Screw that test

[@MusicFan752]

Anyone else happy to see him breakdown over ashes stupidity in this episode??

[@nine_tails137]

YES! I know other Poketubers have done it already, but IDC. The more youtubers tear these episodes apart, the happier I am!

[@black97_0]

@@nine_tails137 I see that you are a member of the church of "sadistical schadenfreude" as well

[@nine_tails137]

@@black97_0 Umm, NO! I'm just pointing out that Silverleagues, TheAuraGuardian, and now Linkara are bashing these episodes, and I'm simply agreeing with them! THAT'S IT!!!

[@black97_0]

@@nine_tails137 you do know what schadenfreude means right? I wasn't trying to insult you

[@nine_tails137]

@@black97_0 Actually no. IDK what schadenfreude means?

[@lineevilasio]

I'm pretty sure ash would have been disqualified for abandoning the gym in the middle of the battle

[@chaoticjusticezero]

That would be a consequence. Those don't happen to main characters! Besides, Gym Battles are secondary to any disaster (usually caused by Team Rocket) that unjustly wins him a badge.

[@alexiaNBC]

Yeah, seriously! If you leave a battle, that's it! The match is over since that is technically cheating when it comes to Pokemon battles.

[@nine_tails137]

If I was the ref of that match, and Ash was meandering around like that, I would have said: "You've got 5 minutes to bring out your next Pokemon, or you're disqualified".

[@Gojiragon]

See, THIS is why I like most of the Sun and Moon anime AND journeys so far (even if most of the music has been replaced and Gou’s English casting choice is dumb), they actually TRY to advance the characters and plot, even by a little or try to have fun notable concepts to explore. Sure, for Sun and Moon it took a bit to get a handle on what the show wanted, but at least it was trying something fun. In the Sun and Moon anime, they basically redesigned ash because he DID look far older than what was said. Hell, they explored DEATH for the first time in the series history AND LET ASH WIN THE ALOLAN LEAGUE. They took steps to actually improve on some things and try to have fun when they couldn’t. Did it always work? No, but it DID show that they at least cared. I love it when they point out weird or wrong things, like why DOES the limbless blue Dragonair evolve into the limbed and orange Dragonite? though I forever lament stupid international music copyright laws that prevent music from the SwSh games from being in the American dub of the anime. Oh yeah, I remember the reason why it felt like a soft reboot… Is because it was going to be a REGULAR reboot. Ash was meant to retire at the end of the previous, the Diamond and Pearl anime series, and win the league after the battle with Paul, hence the finality of it. It’s also why team rocket becomes competent for half of the Black and White anime: they were meant to be different people from team rocket. But basically, at the last minute, the Pokémon company forced the production company making the anime to stick with ash on Black and White, because they still think changing anything would reduce profits. It didn't help that a lot got scrapped after the earthquake, some of it for understandable reasons. A reminder that despite it being a thing in the Sun and Moon games for the protagonist to win and be the first champion, it STILL took some in-house fighting to actually get Ash to win the Alola League, presumedly only being allowed because the next series would require him to be champion to participate in the competition coming up.

[@dragonstormx]

It's frankly amazing that even after all the flak the anime got for faking everyone out into thinking Ash would actually win against Alain, it still took some doing to FINALLY get the green light to let Ash win a tournament even though the fandom was demanding it. Also I don't get what the point of Tobias was. The anime established that Cynthia existed so why not just have Ash face her instead? If they wanted to be clever with him beating the Darkrai, they should have had Cynthia send out her Garchomp first, let Ash defeat that, but still lose the match. Basically in a mirror of the Orange League why the champion saved his ace Pokemon for last, Cynthia sends hers out first, Ash beats it, but the series points out you can beat an opponent's ace Pokemon and still lose.

[@nine_tails137]

Speaking of Journeys: Apparently Teletoon decided to air that series at 3:00am MST! Seriously! Who the hell is gonna be up that late at night, to watch a Pokemon Episode?!

[@Gojiragon]

@@nine_tails137 And that’s another thing: usually when the anime screws up, it’s on the American side of things, like what’s been happening to Journeys. But Black and White was a rare anomaly where it was already bad in Japan and the Dub exacerbated the problem by their edits and constraining copyright laws. Heck, not even the 4kids era was this bad. Sure they Americanized ALOT of the early anime, but the dialogue and simmered down stories they came up with was usually VERY well done, even in the bad episodes. Hell, they didn’t even take out the guns of most of the gun related episodes. Basically what I’m saying is the black and white anime was already bad and the new English “tone it down” style dubbing and edits made it worse. It wasn’t as present in the Kalos anime, but it flared backup (but only a VERY tiny bit) a little in Sun and Moon and ALOT more in Journeys, which is why I recommend the Japanese dub of Journeys. At least you can hear game the music there.

[@nine_tails137]

@@Gojiragon Honestly, I barely remember anything about the Black and White anime, that I actually liked. The only thing that comes to mind that was descent, was the Gym Battle with Roxie(Even though it was a blatant advertisement for Black and white 2) Every other character was so badly written, both main and side characters, to the point where they became unbearable to sit though. Some examples include Burgundy and Georgia. Even that one-off Ducklett Trio pissed me off!

[@Gojiragon]

@@nine_tails137 indeed. I feel like judging by the reactions of the characters, the lines weren’t as dumb, but the story is still bad enough to outweigh it. For example, when Pikachu shocks ash to get him to be persuaded to join the battle, it really doesn’t seem like he was asking for other ideas but more “What was that for?!” by his body language. so he was stupid in that situation regardless of dialogue, but the American dub decided to make him dumber. I suspect that while Japan makes sure their target audience remains at 10 year olds, The Americans try to tone it down for 6 year olds, given how young a lot of American players start.

[@Howlrunner82]

"This kid is getting dumber the second" nah, they just picked a bad clone for this one 😁

[@thatonea-hole]

Either that or all this time manipulation is affecting his brain over-time.

[@skibot9974]

@@thatonea-hole also probably a consequence of coming back from the dead 3 times

[@thatonea-hole]

@Darth_ Madara *THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!!!*

[@nssfleahedgehog]

I personally consider Ash's gym battle with Elesa among the LOWEST moments of the Pokémon anime EVER. It was a treat to watch you call B.S. on these painful episodes.

[@adamgoss3638]

You being friends with my daughter is confusing and weird. THIS CONCEPT OF FRIENDSHIP CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!!!

[@nine_tails137]

TBF, I wouldn't wanna be friends with a klutz who constantly knocks me over every time we meet.

[@christopherbennett5858]

Although, if this guy is so hostile to the concept that his daughter may have friends... Get Unovan CPS.

[@nine_tails137]

@@christopherbennett5858 TBH, I don't recall a single Unova character I liked. Some were okay like Trip and Stephan, but most were either Arrogant, Dumb, Jerky, or Naive/oblivious to their own surroundings.

[@SteveCrafts2k]

@@nine_tails137 You'd be surprised how the games fared better

[@nine_tails137]

@@SteveCrafts2k The Black and White Anime, made me stop watching Pokemon altogether, and just play the games instead.

[@DawnOfTheOzz]

I haven't seen Pokemon since the first season back in the 90s so I just nodding along this review pretending that I'm not completely lost.

[@BaronSengir1008]

I would highly recommend Ace Trainer Liam's Pokemon WTF Moments series...

[@buchiklop110]

At the end of the Sinnoh series, the show underwent a soft reboot. Ash traveled to outside Japan for the first time, but instead of just leaving behind all of his old Pokémon at Oak's, he also left behind his intelligence, as he had to be reminded by Iris on how to actually capture a Pokémon when he first arrived. Team Rocket initially became super serious (though not actually more competent), but their Japanese VAs got really irritated at this and loudly complained, so they went back to being goofy after about 30 episodes. The show would actually call back to earlier seasons in its second half, with Dawn (the protagonist from Diamond & Pearl) coming back for a short arc, then Ash's Charizard comes back for good and pretty much takes over all the screentime from Ash's other Pokémon not named Pikachu.

[@BaronSengir1008]

@@buchiklop110 Just as Black and White were a soft reset of the games, so was the anime...

[@HORRIOR1]

It just occured to me that almost all the gym leaders of gen 5 have a career aside from gym being a gym leader. The trio gym leaders are waiters Lenora runs a museum/library Burgh is an artist Elesa is a fashion model Clay owns runs a mining complex Skyla is a pilot Brycen is a movie star Cheren is a teacher and Roxie is a musician

[@AT4W]

Gen 5 definitely had the most well-rounded and developed gym leaders, IMHO.

[@cameronheaton9900]

@@AT4W helps they are the only leaders who ever help the main characters in the games.

[@masonclark8319]

Drayden is the mayor of Opelucid City

[@Mariokemon]

and Marlon....swims. Hes the worst one.

[@nine_tails137]

@@AT4W Roxie was my favorite Black and White Gym Leader. Elesa coming in a close second.

[@littlekuribohimposte]

The cool, serious Team Rocket was cool. However, their plotline was scrapped because of the 2011 tsunami, because there was going to be sever damage to Castelia City and it was a sensitive topic.

[@buchiklop110]

Meh, serious TR had no real personality to speak of and they were no more successful than they were back when they were goofy.

[@dnmstarsi]

I kinda disagree. Initially I thought it was cool and I really liked their new outfits and wished it stayed that way. But the trio was known for being comedic as well as as antagonistic. Taking that way messes with what made the guys so beloved despite the repetition.

[@skibot9974]

While that delayed the inital start of the team rocket vs team plasma plot the real reason it was scrapped was because at the end of the day the anime is meant to advertise the games and BW2 featured a very different team plasma

[@littlekuribohimposte]

@@skibot9974 It was the first time we were going to see Giovani do anything though!

[@deathknight75]

@@littlekuribohimposte "What, exactly, does this mob boss do?"

[@Jebbtube]

I wish the anime was more like the YuGiOh series; every new series follows a new protagonist and setting.

[@thegreatstoneddragon9432]

Yeah, or Digimon.

[@amegenshiken]

There is a Pokemon manga series that does that... (As in each new series has a new protagonist and setting) ...Pokemon Special/Adventures; but, doesn't really help in the anime department.

[@brendan192045]

or like the pokemon manga (for example Lady Berlitz is very different from Dawn even though they are both based on the female d/p main character)

[@rodimusrider8798]

And it does work for Pokémon media outside the games I mean the Adventures manga predates the show and its still going

[@45darkrai]

Beyblade’s been doing well with that as well

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

Say remember the time when Ash grows into a proper character at the start of the series? OK maybe not in the case of the indigo league, But at least he learns the hard way, What's this series excuse?! Oh yeah it's anime Pokemon they never have any excuse.

[@MusicFan752]

Sad part is ash did show improvement over time, from the start of kanto to the hoenn region battle frontier. Unova region just crapped all over that.

[@TheDoomBlueShell]

Sun and Moon I think is the best on the balancing act not only with Ash acting like a kid but not being an idiot but Ash has lots of knowledge of pokémons but isn't a pokedex, has an episode he goes to an island with pokemons he never saw before without any form of guide, is just him and pikachu, and he can solve the problem just fine with only context clues and some previous knowledge.

[@skibot9974]

Ash shouldve stopped being the main character after Sinnoh

[@cartooncritic7045]

@@skibot9974 Ash is fine to still be the hero at this point. Other long-running franchises more episodic than Pokemon have managed to keep their long-running protagonists for about as long as Ash has been around. These four years were just a really weak stretch of the anime compared to everything that came before and what's come afterward.

[@Gojiragon]

The excuses are "We need to keep ash a 10-year-old so he needs to act childish and not remember anything" and "We need to advertise our games, do the easiest option for the quickest result."

[@Ice-Climber]

To be fair, every season involved Ash only using the Pokemon he caught in the region for the most part. The current one is really the exception to that.

[@BaronSengir1008]

It's his self-imposed challenge...

[@Greil9]

@@BaronSengir1008 I guess it would just feel like a chore if he used his overleveled team that streamrolls almost every gym, rather than a new challenge. I mean can you imagine starting every Pokemon game with your champsionship team from the previous generation?

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@BaronSengir1008 the Only exception were the Battle Frontier Seasons and I think Final part of Johto Generation

[@skibot9974]

Excpet prior to Gen 5 Ash was willing to use his old roster for leauge battles

[@joegreen3802]

@@Greil9 I mean I get that, but not every Pokemon he caught was overpowered. I mean by that logic, then Pikachu would steamroll every gym leader on its own. There are some of his Pokemon like Gible, Totodile, Corphish, or one of the many Tauros he's likely never used that wouldn't have been overpowered.

[@JoshtheOverlander]

Linkara: *Tirade on the BW series* I-It gets better! ....not this season, just, the anime.

[@dnmstarsi]

Series technically. This was the season 2 opening of BW. WHAT A GREAT START.

[@JoshtheOverlander]

@@dnmstarsi I kinda wanna see Linkara tackle the final round two-parter of the Kalos League

[@dnmstarsi]

@@JoshtheOverlander Same. I have my personal opinion (which is VERY unpopular) but I wanna know what Linkara thinks if he also looked into BOTH trainers which could take some time but it might be necessary.

[@JoshtheOverlander]

@@dnmstarsi Same. Plus, I can just imagine how he might feel about Ash-Greninja, lordy. Battle Bonds really are so a cool potentially fascinating mechanic.

[@dnmstarsi]

@@JoshtheOverlander Same. It feels like some kind of untapped potential. Have other signature Pokemon (primary or secondary in Greninja's case since Pikachu will always be Ash's signature Pokemon) and give them a boost of power and nods to their iconic trainer. Here's some dumb examples (admittedly based on the anime protagonists from the OG to Journeys but I could go beyond them): Misty-Psyduck Brock-Croagunk Tracey-Marill (or Scyther) May-Blaziken Dawn-Piplup Iris-Haxorus Cilan-Pansage Serena-Braixen Clemont-Luxray Kiawe-Marowak Mallow-Tsareena Lana-Primarina Sophocles-Togedemaru Lillie-Solgaleo (was gonna go with Alolan Vulpix cuz the anime but "Nebby" will always be her Pokemon IMO) Goh-Cinderace Chloe-Eevee

[@nathanyou1899]

Also didn't Ash literally die one time in that episode with Haunter?

[@psinjo]

depends on how you interpret one's soul/essence being removed. some would say astral projection, some would say body is dead while the spirit is gone, but still a good reference. also "turned to stone" in the movie pretty much was dead too

[@becuaseimbored3481]

The mc and n in the Ferris wheel isn't as weird as you think, in B&W the mc is 17 and N is 18 , so they're only a year apart

[@cartooncritic7045]

The MC in BW is actually around 13-14 and N is 20.

[@theinsanegamer1024]

@@cartooncritic7045 I thought N was 17-18 and the mc was 14-16.

[@RabblesTheBinx]

Officially, the protagonists in Gen 5 are 16-17, nearly adults. Gen 6 is the one where they're 13-14.

[@RabblesTheBinx]

@@cartooncritic7045 and N is between 18 and 20 in Black and White. So, 2-3 years older than the protagonist.

[@SteveCrafts2k]

@@RabblesTheBinx Actually, no. Hilbert, Hilda, Nate, and Rosa are 14 years old. And N is 20 in BW.

[@SkottiKimble]

My guess, the referee is supposedto be dressed in an insulating rubber suit (ignoring the fact that it's sleeveless).

[@thegayghost872]

Ash is so stupid that he forgot his Pokémon’s gender

[@chespin3910]

to be fair, i've done that plenty of times just cause it really doesn't matter that much

[@maldon3659]

@@chespin3910 it only really matters if you care about things attract

[@chespin3910]

@@maldon3659 exactly. and my strategy is always "can I punch it harder/faster than it can do anything to me? If so good. If not? Punch Harder"

[@nine_tails137]

I lost brain cells watching these episodes.

[@nine_tails137]

@@chespin3910 To add to that, almost all of the Unova Pokemon don't have Gender differences(aside from Unfezant) So it's not like Ash not knowing an opposing Pokemon's Gender is unjustified. But not knowing his own Pokemon's Gender?! Yeah! that was really stupid!

[@danielbrant6740]

With all the times Ash gets zapped by Pikachu throughout the entire series, you'd think his brain would become supercharged to the point that he'd have a 300+ IQ by now!

[@ianlampe1502]

At 8:30: I never get tired of "Jigglypuff Seen From Above". Oh, I needed that laugh! Many LOLs!

[@ianlampe1502]

Also, Black Cat should've came along to yell at Ash: "Will you ever grow up?".

[@Awesome_Pichu]

It's kind of dumb after a while when they keep acting like the audience wouldn't be able to figure out which building is a gym.

[@nine_tails137]

I actually got so fed up with Team Rocket spouting their repetitive Motto, that I would constantly put the TV on Mute, every time they did that. Seriously! we don't need to be constantly reminded who you are! STHU already!!!!

[@gtsgreatteacherscathach5550]

Man i forgot how awful Bianca's dad was, seriously who are you to tell Ash to go back home if he loses?

[@romram7984]

Ikr. Though i wonder if it was meant to come of as a "if you really care about my daughter, how far will you go to make sure she can still continue her adventure" kind of deal that didn't work out

[@legomaniac213]

Which presents the clever loophole of him "going back home" for a day and resuming his adventure the next morning.

[@nine_tails137]

Sad thing is, I personally HATE the way Bianca was written. Constantly knocking Ash over, interrupting Ash when he's trying to catch a wild Pokemon, Not to mention blowing Ash and Co. off, after they JUST got her dad to lay off of her! CHRIST ALMIGHTY!!!!

[@gtsgreatteacherscathach5550]

@@nine_tails137 i think she was meant to be written as a air head but it comes off as being really stupid. She should had a better writer working on her.

[@nine_tails137]

@@gtsgreatteacherscathach5550 I totally agree with her getting a better writer. Plus I always saw Bianca's klutziness, as straight up obnoxious! So much to the point where the more she tackled Ash, the more I felt she does that on purpose. Personally, I would have quickly moved to the side and tripped her as payback. Also, Skyla was the bigger "Airhead", since she came up with the stupid idea of "Air Battles".

[@ShyBiiteVT]

I legitimately hate this gym battle because it showcases just how stupid the creators made Ash for this series, thinking that us long time fans would just go along with it. This series did Ash dirty, and this single gym episode is proof.

[@nine_tails137]

I felt like I lost brain cells watching those episodes.

[@millerkarageanes1562]

Best wishes was intended as a soft reboot like how the black and white games were

[@nine_tails137]

@@millerkarageanes1562 OG Ash was never this stupid though.

[@millerkarageanes1562]

@@nine_tails137 yes

[@millerkarageanes1562]

@@nine_tails137 As linkara said it’s a joke

[@OnDavidsBrain]

Tra-la-la Persona 5 Striker comes out today gonna play I HOLY CRAP Linkara's looking at the Pokeymans! YEAH POKEYMAN YEAH!

[@jordanhunter3375]

Hopefully your copy comes on time today, my preorder comes tomorrow.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

@@jordanhunter3375 Got mine digital.

[@skorn8112]

20:46 ...really ash...really? You know at least when Jaden in Yu-gi-oh GX took a lunchbreak in his match against Zane it WAS part of his character and served as a moment reminding him to not get stressed out so he could face Zane at his best like he said. That was just Stupid ash

[@nine_tails137]

As G1 Galvatron once said: "This is bad comedy."

[@Jygerthe2nd]

Y'know what's sad? As much as you said about how the Black & White series was essentially a soft reboot, I could still name a BUNCH more things. It honestly felt like the writers had no idea how to write Ash anymore.

[@dakotadoyle7573]

Also all the behind the scenes issues that started after Ash's battle with Elisa didn't help, after the gym battle all the stuff Team Rocket was doing behind the scenes were supposed to come to a head by taking over the train station and causing a disaster while also leading into the Team Plasma plot. The problem was that the same day that episode was supposed to air a massive tidal wave hit Japan and the train station plot was scrapped because the production company !thought a train disaster would be in poor taste

[@nine_tails137]

One of my biggest gripes with the Black and White Anime, is the side characters are written as either Arrogant, dumb, jerky, or naive to the point where they become unlikable. Some examples include Burgundy being Elitist towards Cylin, and Georgia being racist towards both Dragon types and Dragon Masters.

[@slickrj3]

@@dakotadoyle7573 wasn't that plot point with the team rocket vs team plasma showdown during the bug type gym leader meet-up? Still, a part of me will always wonder if the black and white anime could've salvaged itself if they were able to keep with the original plan.

[@myriadmediamusings]

Times like this REALLY make me wish Adventures would get adapated from the manga so that we can actually have some damn competent protagonists. Or at least, developing protagonists.

[@mesousagaby740]

Well, the producers like Ash too much. Yeah.

[@dnmstarsi]

Eh, it's not that bad and it's not damaging for little kids which this show is ultimately for even with a popular character reduced to stupid at one point. It's all about the adventure and Pokemon still has that and Ash still has his cool and competent moments.

[@undertakernumberone1]

@@dnmstarsi it's also not as if they wouldn't bea ble to take Adventure and if it runs well enough do the same as they did with the "main" Pokemon anime. Just saying "Adapt that so that we can have some competent protagonists" should immedialy lead to the question: And then what? When the stuff is "over" and they go into their own stories, rather than adapting, when the show ran for multiple decades... ya think that that the "competent protagonists" won't have moments where they are written like that?

[@dnmstarsi]

@@undertakernumberone1 Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that Pokemon for all of its problems is still ongoing and has its fans, both old and new. I get people want more serious and interesting stuff with "better" protagonists but that's not what this show is most of the time.

[@undertakernumberone1]

@@dnmstarsi all i'm saying is that, just because they suddenly decide to adapt "competent protagonists" does not at all mean that they STAY competent.

[@allsuper9268]

Do you want to know what’s worse Iris also has a female Emolga who uses a very similar strategy.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

That makes it Even worse that notbeven Iris says something like "Just think like how would You defeat My Emolga!"

[@allsuper9268]

@@ianr.navahuber2195 that wouldn’t work because he never has they batted a lot but Iris one most of the time

[@PrincessAshley972]

@@ianr.navahuber2195 Her Emolga hates battling though, kept using volt switch to make other Pokemon fight instead

[@allsuper9268]

@@PrincessAshley972 true but he should at least know that it’s a flying type

[@PrincessAshley972]

@@allsuper9268 Oh absolutely

[@wikiuser92]

Ah, Linkara tearing the most hated Gym battle of all time a new one. What a beautiful day to be alive!

[@nine_tails137]

Even though other PokeTubers have already torn these episodes apart. LOL! Not that I'm complaining or anything.

[@SchazmenRassir]

Ahh, that was a good rant. Yeah, some of the decisions made for this show are just _insulting_ to... everything and everyone. EDIT: Correction, rantS. What the hell were they thinking?

[@LiliumSnow]

I love how Lewis' cat is just sleeping peacefully beside him while he yells and rants about Ash's stupidity. x3

[@BartmanBegins]

By far, the best parts of this review were anytime Linkara went on a rant about Ash's stupidity. So friggin' funny. I like Ash, but MAN did the people behind the Black and White seasons dropped the ball with him. If people on Patreon keep making you review more Pokémon-related material, I would have absolutely no problem with that.

[@ruby7951]

I really liked how Elesa was the one that helped Bianca in the game. I got the sense that she basically had the same conversation with her own father. Disappointed to see how the anime version of events turned out.

[@alexjewett7455]

21:16 Notice that while ash acting too stupid to live Pikachu is off to the side and like 10 feet away. Obviously the electric rodent is the brains behind the operation.

[@ZoanBlade90]

24:16 "I keep glaring at the comic (anime), but it won't shut up." 25:20 One imagines that Being a Gym Leader is a sure thing for insurance firms in universe.

[@theinsanegamer1024]

7:51 You forgot that Ash has died after being crushed by a chandelier and flew around Lavender Town with some Ghost types.

[@WelshGiraffa]

Ah good to see Linkara is a man of culture with his choice pokemon to sit with him

[@dvass7253]

7:49-8:05 - Don't forget that he and Pikachu were FREAKING DEAD for a bit when they went to Lavender to capture a Ghost Pokemon... or at the very least they were in a coma.

[@mmayes237]

I mean technically Ash lost since he had no other pokemon to battle with 😂

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

Elesa was so Kind to Actually let him go for more Pokémon and come back

[@mmayes237]

@@ianr.navahuber2195 ikr 😂

[@dnmstarsi]

@@ianr.navahuber2195 That or she was high.

[@SetoShadowVT]

Last Time Linkara did something Pokemon related.....The Entity showed up..... Good thing it's dead now right!? Right?

[@wikiuser92]

Yes. It is dead now.

[@charlesnash1218]

@@wikiuser92 .......who knows.linkara may have one more thing planned for it if there is ever a finale to AT4W.I know for sure the king of worms will make a return whenever he gets to it.

[@wikiuser92]

@@charlesnash1218 Both of those two are dead.

[@charlesnash1218]

@@wikiuser92 what was that thing in the sleepwalker arc that had a skull for a face and sickles for hands?

[@wikiuser92]

@@charlesnash1218 You mean the thing inside the portal?

[@mathieuleader8601]

Elesa's observation haki levels are immense

[@TitaniaBird]

Ah, Elesa... Or as I like to call her, Unovan Lady Gaga.

[@thatonea-hole]

Except unlike Lady-Gaga, Elesa is a good person

[@TitaniaBird]

@@thatonea-hole Citation needed on that first part. Unless you're living up to your name and just trying to stir up shit, in which case fuck off.

[@nine_tails137]

Woah! woah! woah! Cool your jets dude! I wouldn't go that far!

[@pokemastercube]

kitty looks comfotable there throughout the episode, needs to be credited in the credits

[@Santoryu90]

In terms how Unova had Team Rocket at first be more serious and threatening villains and there are probably people who wish it stayed like that. Apparently the Japanese fan base wasn’t really a fan of that preferred the trio stay as they are comedic selves because it’s much more popular there.

[@darkron288]

You know i don't hate the anime... but sometimes are a game fan it feels like the anime loves kicking me in balls. Either be proud of the games you come from or make a new a ip, the pokemon anime seems like it''s embarrassed to related to the games considering how many times it changes what attacks does

[@Nightmster]

It really doesn't change all that much. It's usually just tweaked to work in the "real-life"-setting of the anime.

[@TheDoomBlueShell]

Sometimes I feel you, but sometimes the anime has its own meta that makes things much better for the anime, had a fight that a dude won with an ice type against fire because he noticed that the fire pokemon attacks melted the ice ones creating water and using this to their advantage

[@diegocella6791]

I'm 25 minute in... and i'm starting to think that this is a pokemon episode, but i might be wrong....

[@PapaTaurean]

So many references!! Comedy overload. Perhaps Cilan can determine the right ratio of grape jelly and mustard... even though the Jam is Handy. Ash should really ask himself "What would Bob Corby do?"

[@KennyFrierson]

I love that when the fights over his scarf stops being so anime

[@Stephen-Fox]

A disabled trainer unable to ride the rides to fight this gym would be saved in the long run. I'm pretty sure Skyla's game gyms would kill anyone who tried to do the puzzles as she repeatedly fires children from cannons so they land on steel walkways (or in one case, faceplants into a wall) in BW, or blows winds strong enough to send them hurtling around a room including through wooden crates on high walkways. I mean, I agree that gyms should be accessible, but... In this case a fairly early inaccessible gym is a blessing in disguise. You did miss a biggy from the Indigo league in your list of dangerous things that have happened to Ash. The time he was literally killed - to the point that his ghost played pranks on Brock and Misty - by a chandalier being dropped on him (He got better).

[@45darkrai]

A yes, the episode where they made Ash so incompetent he literally went back to the Pokémon center to switch Pokémon in the middle of a gym battle. If the DP era was Ash at his best, BW era was without a doubt him at his worst.

[@MrSonicHedgehog]

Did you watch XY? That was truly Ash at his best

[@joshuafranklin6307]

@@MrSonicHedgehog But Ash didn't have a real rival like Paul.

[@ThePreciseClimber]

@@joshuafranklin6307 Yeah, Alan was kinda BS with his overpowered Charizard X. Shota/Sawyer was alright but he wasn't a RIVAL rival. Just a secondary rival. Too friendly to serve this role.

[@dnmstarsi]

@@MrSonicHedgehog I feel that Ash is overrated. Not bad at all but the best? Nah, even his team wasn't all perfect. I feel like DP Ash is the better one since it continues the development of the previous version of Ash while XY is more of a redo of what BW Ash is supposed to be.

[@dnmstarsi]

@@ThePreciseClimber Eh, at least it was established early on that Alain's Charizard was powerful. Plus if Ash can have an OPed Greninja with some exclusive for, why not the protagonist of the Mega Evolution Acts?

[@Relichunters01]

There is actually an in universe explanation for why ash only uses the unova pokemon. In the first episode they said you can't bring foreign pokemon into the region unless it's your starter pokemon

[@_NIKOS9_NIKOS]

Which is a rule that you'd think should work both ways but appearantly not since at the end of the series Ash send all of his Unova Pokemon at Oak's lab

[@Relichunters01]

@@_NIKOS9_NIKOS true

[@Rixec2]

Yeah, these episodes were definitely bad on Ash's character, making him far worse than he was in the Indio League and knew nothing. Plus, it always bugs me that Bianca's father never got any comeuppance, which his attitude so rightfully deserved. Plus, it's not like him defeating Ash showed any lesson in how to improve, whether as a person or a trainer. He just beat him for stupidity's sake.

[@AxelHunterTwitch]

Really glad Late Night Double Feature is coming back. Really enjoyed the first episode and am anxious for more.

[@TheSwordsman100]

I agree, though personally the Samurott line is also the best line of starters so far.

[@DetectorCliche]

Linkara: Does he always have that on under his business suit? Me: This surprises you?

[@TheHumbleFellow]

I was waiting for your reaction to Ash running out of the Gym to withdraw a new Pokemon, and I was not disappointed. Seriously, how did he not get disqualified for that stunt?

[@nine_tails137]

I know other Poketubers have done this already, but I'm SOOO GLAD to hear Linkara tear these episodes apart! Also "If they handed out medals on planet stupid, you could be an Olympian." -Linkara(Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #4)

[@thewalrusclown]

4:09: personally I perfer the Gible/ Piplup running gag from gen.4.

[@nine_tails137]

I didn't like that joke. Because It comes across as the writers hurting Piplup just for funzies.

[@Nightwing9597]

11:40 Wow. Double joke combo!! Grape jelly and mustard, and the “Donuts”

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

Guess Team Skull is unavailable to appear in AT4W.

[@KitsuneRokaku]

Guess he and the other Kanadian Elite Four are busy doing the bidding of Giratina

[@Jayfive276]

25:14 - “DOES THIS LOOK LIKE THE FACE OF MERCY???”

[@baddealdude807]

the palpatoad sequence is so batshit that I kind of love it

[@bcleary120]

I'm so glad my favorite Gym Leader ever from one of my favorite entries in the series got the worst Gym fight in the adaptation. The Unova anime is really the gift that keeps on giving.

[@sotnosen95]

"Why's the referee dressed like she's going to skydiving lessons after this?" I mean, maybe she is. You don't know about the referee's personal life.

[@DarkfireTaimatsu]

I skipped the Black+White seasons mostly because I disliked Brock being replaced with Cilan, who I thought was a doofus. And episodes like this lend support to my decision~

[@dnmstarsi]

Honestly, Cilan is the least of this series' problems. He can be annoying but there are much worse things than that guy with a name that should've been pronounced differently.

[@pn2294]

Brock hadn’t done anything for a while

[@buchiklop110]

Cilan's actually WAY more active in Best Wishes than Brock was in all the episodes from Johto through Sinnoh.

[@Plasmawarrior]

2:56 AT4W Starter Town Theme Song! Nice!

[@TevyaSmolka]

I haven’t watched the Pokémon anime in a very long time so frankly all this stuff is a very new to me.

[@buchiklop110]

Both Diamond & Pearl and XY are fun watches, though I suggest watching the sub only, as the dub's music replacement leaves a lot to be desired, especially in XY.

[@The1Tyman]

At 20:51 that face sums up the entire Season for me 😂😂😂

[@jeremy1860]

Twenty-five years. How times flies. It's been good to have this franchise in our lives 😊

[@RaptorofRex07]

Every time I see Ash thinking I picture a Morpeko running on a hamster wheel in his head and just giving up after 1 minute

[@theruoc147]

Yay, new late night double feature!

[@matt32992]

You know something that would be really cool? What if Ash adopted or integrated battle strategies or tendencies from his past friends and companions? Like, what if Ash did something in battle that was similar to Brock and Misty? Or hell, what if he fought like his friends Gary, Ritchie, etc? It would show how much he's learned from all of his time as a trainer and show some actual goddamn progress instead of regressing him and nerfing him and Pikachu each season and region

[@dnmstarsi]

We kinda got that with Counter Shield. He was inspired by one of Dawn's contest battle in Celestic and decided to use it as a way to block attacks like Hypnosis but also be an offensive. Now while this isn't a tactic his friends or rivals made that Ash learned from, it did ultimately became the other way around with Dawn, Brock, Fantina (who named the tactic) and even Paul using that for their own battles. It's not much but it shows that for all of Ash's ridiculousness, he's still an positive influence in terms of battles.